Valuable exercise- have a go (free meta data viewer and editor tool)

There is the basic metadata (EXIF-Exchangeable image file format, IPTC-International Press Telecommunications Council) exposed through tools like Lightroom but there is more that can be accessed.
There is a free tool written by Phil Harvey that extracts a lot more detail than you would otherwise see. I have played with this tool over the past few years and it has kept up with new camera versions and been well supported. I wrote a tool once which imported my whole collection into a database to see what lens I should buy next based on how I shoot with what I have - fun

If you download his Windows Executable from his website you can simply drag and drop an image onto the file once unzipped file: "exiftool(-k).exe" and it will open a MS-DOS shell listing all the values.

There is also a free GUI (interface) that uses Phil's backend so you do not need to know the commandlines. Check out website

It is an incredibly powerful tool that can do so much if you are command line capable. Have a look at this website it really is worthwhile.
I have included a list of variables it reported on a JPEG file from a Canon MarkII.
There are so many interesting parameters to view and help you understand what the camera is doing. It has helped me to understand what features of my camera I need to learn about.

I'd love to run the Dreamstime catalogue through a tool like this to understand the lenses people are using for what subject. There would be such a gold mine of information.
I would be interested in any other free tools that others use to organise or process any files.

Hi GavrilCircle of Confusion is a really useful for working out what F to use. Have a look at the website CoC. Once you know what this is for your camera you can create a depth of field calculator - have a look at this website DOF calculator

Thank you very much for pointing to this tool. I never heard of it! For the past 5 years, I have been using Irfanview and found Exifer (that isn't developed any more) a bit buggy. Of course there is the "Microsoft Pro Photo Tools" too. The guy really did a great job! Also the GUI developer.

As for EXIF, I never felt the urge touching it, but IPTC is another cup of tea.
A big "useful" for this post. I almost missed it since the title of the post is a bit misleading. ;-)

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About me

I moved to Adelaide, Australia in 1978 from Auckland, New Zealand, as a child. Raised in Townsville, North Queensland, I left home to work in Central Australia where I first became interested in photography as a field geologist. From there I took a role in Johannesburg, South Africa, returned to Australia to marry, moved to Santiago, spent five years there in the capital of Chile and since have moved back to Brisbane, Australia where I am now based. I live with my wife of eight years and our three year old son. I have spent the past 10 years travelling all over the world and as part of my travel I have had the privilege of seeing and progressively becoming a more dedicated photographer, trying to represent the world as I see it.
My passion in photography is diverse, but the area I enjoy most is the wonder of what is revealed within macro photographs. I enjoy abstract and realistic portrayals of natural subjects and ordinary things. Bright contrasting colours, dense texture, rhythmic and seemingly random patterns at all scales captivate me. The detail revealed through high resolution photographs demonstrates to me how much we miss while “living” life and suggests that any amount of time spent observing will never be too much.
I particularly enjoy being stirred by a photograph which displays the awe delivered by a landscape, a raw/seized/held/bound/ captured emotion, rich morning light or a captured sense of movement. I am inspired by viewing photographs from the greats through to amateurs. They challenge me to continue to learn how to see.

I moved to Adelaide, Australia in 1978 from Auckland, New Zealand, as a child. Raised in Townsville, North Queensland, I left home to work in Central Australia where I first became interested in photography as a field geologist. From there I took a role in Johannesburg, South Africa, returned to Australia to marry, moved to Santiago, spent five years there in the capital of Chile and since have moved back to Brisbane, Australia where I am now based. I live with my wife of eight years and our three year old son. I have spent the past 10 years travelling all over the world and as part of my trav... [Read more]

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